Marc Myers writes daily on jazz legends and legendary jazz recordings

May 2013

May 31, 2013

Bret Primack, the Jazz Video Guy, just posted a clip of Cannonball Adderley illustrating bebop on TV's The Subject Is Jazz. Hosted by Gilbert Seldes, the program aired in 1958 under the musical direction of Billy Taylor. Here's Adderley and the show...

May 30, 2013

Mulgrew Miller—a lush and powerful jazz pianist who had the percussive feel of Oscar Peterson, the touch of Phineas Newborn, Jr. and the soul of Bobby Timmons—died yesterday after suffering a stroke. [Photo of Mulgrew Miller at home by Jimmy Katz for JazzTimes]

May 29, 2013

In February 1964—sandwiched between two recording sessions with then husband and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine—organist Shirley Scott recorded with guitarist Kenny Burrell. She had just wrapped Hustlin' with Turrentine at the end of January and would be back in the studio for Blue Flames at the end of March. Backing Scott and Burrell on this Ozzie Cadena-produced album for Prestige were bassist Eddie Khan and drummer Otis "Candy" Finch.

What makes this album so exciting is what's missing—a boss. Turrentine's appeal on Scott dates was his soulful command and searing reed statements before and after Scott solos. Here, Scott and Burrell play off each other in tender ways. It's a hip rhythm-section date—with all the swinging, playful interchanges you find when the sax on an organ date sits out. After Scott's solos, instead of the Turrentine train roaring out of the tunnel, you get Burrell's ringing, single-note lines. The ear likes what it hears.

The session's song choices also are perfect in every way. The track list features Travelin' Light, Solar, Nice 'n' Easy, They Call It Stormy Monday, Baby It's Cold Out There and The Kerry Dance. What's interesting is how Scott plays behind Burrrell. Fully aware of the guitar's sonic limitations, she offers huge support to fill the space—offering both texture and a frame for Burrell. Scott and Burrell played well together. [Photo above of Kenny Burrell by Francis Wolff]

For me, the title tune, Solar and Nice 'n' Easy say it all—a glorious pace, groovy ideas and earthy camaraderie.

JazzWax tracks: All of the tracks from Travelin' Lightcan be found on Shirley Scott: Soul Sister, part of Prestige's "Legends of Acid Jazz" series. The other album on this CD is Soul Sister, a vibes-organ date, from 1960. Go here.

May 28, 2013

Last week I posted on German pianist Jutta Hipp, who recorded in the 1950s before disappearing from the jazz scene. I also mentioned that Katja von Schuttenbach—a jazz historian and journalist [pictured above]—had researched and written about Hipp. I sent Katja a handful of questions and she kindly responded. Here’s our e-conversation:

JazzWax: Jutta Hipp seems like a tragic figure—in part a victim of her own issues. Do we know what she went through as a teen living under Nazi rule?Katja von Schuttenbach: Jutta was 8 years old when Hitler became chancellor (1933); 14 when Germany invaded Poland (1939); and 21 when she became a refugee (1946). As a Lutheran/Protestant in Germany, she did not suffer from religious persecution. However, along with millions of other German civilians, she went through massive bombing raids on her hometown of Leipzig. After the war she became a displaced person and suffered from malnutrition and lacked most basic necessities. [Photo above of Jutta Hipp provided by Han Schulte in the Netherlands]

JW: How do we know this?KVS: I established a timeline of Hipp’s life based on articles about her in Germany and the U.S. between 1952 and 2010. I also conducted more than 35 interviews with people who knew her and I read about 300 of Hipp’s personal letters, in which she sometimes reminisced.

JW: Right after the war, what was life like for Hipp?KVS: She was deprived of what we would consider a normal teenager’s life and, no doubt, her pregnancy in 1948 was also overshadowed by insufficient prenatal care. She was so poor that she did not even have an apartment of her own but lived in a room made available for individuals working for the United States Special Services.

JW: Pregnancy?KVS: Hipp gave birth to a son, Lionel, whose father was a black G.I. stationed in Germany. Black G.I.s were not allowed to accept paternity back then if they fathered a child with a white woman—even if they had wanted to. The U.S. military was still segregated. This means that Jutta and Lionel’s father were not engaged or married. Lionel does not know who his father is but he would like to know. Unfortunately, without a reliable name, information on where he was stationed in and around Munich and details about his tour of duty, it's impossible to search. [Photo above of Hipp and Lionel, 1 1/2, taken in June 1950]

JW: How did Hipp learn to play jazz? KVS: Hipp had been raised sheltered in a small, culturally inclined middle-class family. She began taking formal piano lessons at age 9, but a harsh teacher killed her enthusiasm, diverting her to jazz. Since jazz was frowned upon as “degenerate music” under Nazi rule, jazz musicians were always in danger of persecution and severe punishment. Hipp's listening sessions were confined to clandestine gatherings in friends’ homes and much of her continuing musical appreciation and education took place during bombing raids. Instead of joining her parents and brother in the basement shelter—she hunkered down in front of the radio transcribing jazz tunes played on forbidden radio stations. [Pictured above: Hipp, second from right]

JW: Where and how did she meet Leonard Feather? KVS: Feather had received a tape from a G.I. that included Hipp playing. Feather loved what he heard and was eager to meet Hipp in person. In January 1954, when he toured Germany with “Jazz Club USA”—featuring Billie Holiday, Buddy DeFranco and other top American jazz musicians—he made a late-night side trip to Duisburg, where he found Hipp jamming in a cellar club. [Photo above: Leonard Feather gives pianist Mary Lou Williams his famed blindfold test]

JW: Was Feather responsible for her being recorded in Germany that year?KVS: Yes. By April 1954 Feather arranged for a recording session in Frankfurt/Main, featuring the Jutta Hipp Quintet. Eventually the tape became New Faces – New Sounds from Germany, which was released by Blue Note as its first Hipp release in the States in 1956.

JW: Why did Feather bother? KVS: Feather was not likely doing this because of a personal interest in Hipp but because he hoped to make money by bringing European jazz talent to the States. For example, he also had sponsored George Shearing’s immigration.

JW: After Hipp arrived in New York, what role did Horace Silver play?KVS: Not much. I was able to contact Horace Silver only through his biographer Phil Pastras back in 2005. Silver only conveyed that he had known Jutta but added that he did not know her well. Jutta was greatly influenced by Silver’s blues-inspired rhythmic abilities, which led to her to move away from cool and bebop.

JW: Hipp performed at Newport in 1956? KVS: Yes, she performed a magnificent version of the St. Louis Blues. Aside from being an artistic influence, Silver had no other apparent influence on Hipp’s career and was not romantically involved with her.

JW: Is there a recording available of Hipp's appearance at Newport in ’56?SVK: Not yet, but hopefully soon.

JW: Did Feather pursue Hipp romantically?KVS: Hipp did not speak much of Feather once she started giving interviews again around 1986 and there is hardly any mention of him in the close to 300 personal letters of hers I studied to date. She did not want to speak about what she considered “miserable times.” It was not through anything that Hipp had said or written that I became curious about what had happened between them but rather by comparing Feather’s Hipp entries in the 1955 and 1960 editions of his Encyclopedia of Jazz and by reading the passage about Hipp in his memoir, The Jazz Years.

JW: Any other sources?SVK: I asked former musician colleagues of Hipp’s about their recollections and that’s when I first heard of Feather romantically pursuing Hipp who at that time was still engaged to Attila Zoller. Hipp herself spoke of such advances to trumpeter Iris Kramer in August 1986.

JW: Why did Hipp's career falter? KVS: I do not think her career declined quickly because she rejected romantic advances by Feather. However, bassist Peter Ind—who was in Hipp’s Hickory House trio—recalled in a 2005 interview that Hipp may have written her fiancé Attila Zoller in Germany about it and that somehow the word spread and may have gotten back to Feather. Feather, of course, would not have been amused. After all, he was married and a father.

JW: So what crushed Hipp?KVS: Hipp had a very stubborn side to her and said in a 1958 interview with Eric T. Vogel that she never wanted to have her own combo and that she did not want to be a bandleader. She indicated that different people had tried to make money off her playing when she came to New York but that she herself put an end to that. Well, one of the people who would have tried to make money off her would have been Feather. After all he introduced her to Alfred Lion; he got her the Hickory House gig; and he introduced her to Joe Glaser whose ABC Booking Corp became her booking agency for a brief time. By the way, Hipp was very fond of Glaser and, until her death, considered him the best booking agent ever.

JW: What became of her?KVS: Despite her stubbornness, Hipp was a rather shy individual who suffered from severe stage fright throughout her career and drowned her fears with excessive alcohol and life-long chain smoking. Thus, being the featured artist at a large performance venue was more of a daunting chore for Hipp than a joyful public celebration of her talent. In 1946 she became a professional musician out of necessity. She had wanted to become a painter but in post-War Germany, a country in ruins, she could not have made a living that way.

JW: So playing jazz was a way to earn money rather than a burning passion?KVS: Hipp’s talent at the piano saved her from the fate of many other German women immediately after the war: becoming a prostitute. She was a true survivor, but by 1958 Hipp had hit rock bottom. She had been evicted from her apartment and had no money left to buy food. That was exactly 10 years after she had given birth to her son Lionel, whom she had to give up for adoption right after birth. She had been engaged five times; had survived a World War; had a child out of wedlock; made it unexpectedly big professionally; came to America on her own with $50 in her pocket; and then lost it all again.

JW: What caused her to drop from the jazz scene?SVK: Her decision to leave jazz behind was not about a bad review. In fact, her playing was becoming much more exciting. But Hipp wasn’t a businesswoman and she came under increased pressure as jazz’s popularity declined and gigs dried up for all musicians. Horrified at seeing Hipp homeless, her tax preparer urged her to find a stable job outside the music business. And that’s what she did. She found herself a job in a clothing factory. She continued to perform part-time on weekends until 1960 when she began working for Wallach’s Clothiers, a unionized operation, where she would remain for the next 35 years.

JW: What did Hipp do there?KVS: Hipp was not a seamstress. All she did was prepare frayed or torn men’s pants for alterations. Artistically, Hipp shifted her focus completely and refocused on her first love—drawing and painting.

JW: What happened to her son?KVS: I have a copy of Lionel's changed birth certificate in which his new parents and name change are included. Lionel will turn 65 years old this November. He is married with no children and lives in Germany. He has been unemployed due to health issues for quite some time and lives basically on government subsistence. Despite it all he has a great sense of humor and loves music, especially country. He also plays piano, guitar and drums. My personal belief is that Lionel would have had a better life in the States. [Drawing of Jutta Hipp above by Lionel, Hipp's son, whom she named after Lionel Hampton]

JW: What do you think was at the root of Hipp's problems?KVS: My guess is Hipp suffered from undiagnosed and untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). The first 23 years of Hipp's life were marked by many events she had no control over. First she had to endure Nazi oppression, followed by Allied bombings and then Russian occupation before fleeing to the American-occupied Western zone. What war-time stress can do to a person—especially a shy, sensitive woman like Hipp, cannot be underestimated. The long-time fear and anxiety one faces in such situations doesn't end with the conflict. They linger, often for life. Hipp said she stayed in her factory job for 35 years only because the job was was easy. Which makes sense, since it didn't take anything out of her, and she could no longer be judged or degraded. In letters, she spoke of depressive moods in the early mornings. Her alcoholism (which she overcame on her own), decades of depression, the inability to sustain close relationships, and a certain disassociation from her own life—these are all symptoms of PTSD. JW: When did Hipp die?SVK: Hipp died on April 7, 2003 in her Sunnyside, Queens, N.Y. apartment—succumbing to pancreatic cancer.

A special thanks to Katja von Schuttenbach for her generous time and use of photos. More on Katja here. Jutta Hipp's Facebook page, managed by Katja, is here.

May 27, 2013

In 1947, Frank Sinatra was a major pop and film star. His years with trombonist Tommy Dorsey's orchestra from January 1940 to the summer of 1942 had established him as Bing Crosby's rival—particularly with younger music fans who identified with Sinatra's casual, natural singing style.

Soon after leaving Dorsey, Sinatra signed with Columbia Records in January 1943 and began a grueling period of recording, radio and stage appearances and film work. In short order, Sinatra became a national sensation—his vocals on record were warm and sincere while his brash confidence and innocent optimism were captured neatly in musical films such as Higher and Higher (1944) and Anchors Away (1945).

In 1947, Sinatra made It Happened in Brooklyn—a film about how those with big dreams can see them through with the right mindset and determination. One of my favorite scenes features a young-adult Sinatra working in a record store as he tries to show bop-influenced teens how It's the Same Old Dream should be crooned...

May 25, 2013

Grab this weekend's Wall Street Journal. For my first "Playlist" column in the paper's Review section, I interview Joy Behar on her favorite song as a kid growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's Frank Sinatra's All the Way—and her story is priceless! She had me in stitches. Go here.

JazzWax in Toronoto. Last call! If you're in Toronto on Thursday, May 30, I'll be giving a
multimedia talk at the studios of JAZZ.FM 91 at Long &
McQuade Performance Hall. I'll be detailing the unlikely events that caused jazz styles to change so often between 1942
and 1972—the subject of my book, Why Jazz Happened. For information and tickets, go here.

Best thing I saw last week: The French thriller Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954). Jean Gabin had quiet presence.

Coolest thing I did last week: Tony Bennett asked me to give a jazz talk at Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens. I spoke on why pop and jazz singers flourished between 1954 and 1964—and why it all came to an end. Hats off to educator Tom Sandri and his terrific students—who correctly guessed every single one of the vocalists I played, including the obscure ones.

Harry Carney. You may have heard baritone saxophonist Harry Carney on Duke Ellington's records. But unless you were lucky enough to see the band, you probably have no idea what he looks like or how he held his instrument. Well, here he is in a color film funded by a corporate sponsor in the early '60s. Thanks to reader John Cooper and his sharp eye...

Love jazz guitar? Want to learn more? Here's a multipart video series on the instrument's rich history—thanks to reader and WRTC radio host Chris Cowles...

Chic alors! Sidney Bechet. National Jazz Museum of Harlem director Loren Schoenberg found this mega montage video of Sidney Bechet and loads of other jazz greats. I thought Charlie Parker only turned up in only two films—one with Dizzy Gillespie playing Hot House on Dick Hyman's TV show and with another with Coleman Hawkins. And yet, at 1:52 of this clip, there's Bird with bassist Chubby Jackson on WPIX, which began broadcasting in New York in 1948. Is this legit? And if so, what's the story?

Jazz radio. Raoul van Hall of Oregon Public Broadcasting, hosts a superb jazz show on KMDH every Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. (EST). You can tune in on your computer from anywhere in the world by going here.

CD discovery of the week. The problem with many Oscar Pettiford albums is you can barely hear him playing the bass. In many cases he was with a large ensemble or simply keeping time with instruments that overshadowed
him. Now, on Oscar Pettiford: Germany 1958-1959 (Jazz Haus), you can hear the robust player in all his thumping glory. During Pettiford's stay there in the late '50s, he was recorded playing bass and cello with German and American musicians—including Lucky Thompson, Attila Zoller, Kenny Clarke, Rolf Kuhn and Dusko Goykovich. But the engineer on these lost-tape recordings was the real hero—wisely miking Pettiford so he stood out. The results tell you a great deal about Pettiford's big modern feel and swinging time.

Oddball album cover of the week. Design ideas come from the strangest places—even record libraries! I found the one below (top)—The Guido Manusardi Trio from 1967—on a Swedish jazz site. Oscar Peterson's Night Train was released by Verve five years earlier.

May 24, 2013

In today's Wall Street Journal, I have three articles that I know will knock you out. First, I speak with Tony Bennett for the Arena section about his CD Bennett/Brubeck:
The White House Sessions, Live 1962 (Sony Legacy). Tony and I spoke about what it was like to sing with Dave (the first time and a rare occurrence) and how the concert came together. I must say, Tony is every bit the gentleman. To read, go here.

Second, my "Anatomy of a Song" column for Arena centers this time on John Fogerty's Proud Mary—the first rock song many people of my generation danced to as kids in 1968 at an uncle's wedding. I did a deep reporting job, speaking with John; Sonny Charles of the
Checkmates; Tamiko Jones, Solomon Burke's producer; Perry Botkin Jr., Phil Spector's arranger on the Checkmates' version; and Brent Maher, the engineer on Ike and Tina Turner's legendary recording. What I found is that Turner's overheated version was inspired by Burke's and the Checkmates' versions. Hear for yourself at the bottom. John has a new album out on Tuesday—Wrote a Song for Everyone (Vanguard). To read, go here.

And finally, in the Mansion section, my "House Call" column this week is on a World War II B-17 bomber pilot who found refuge in a Belgian industrialist's home after being shot down 10 days before D-Day. As you can imagine, Memorial Day means a great deal to him. To read, go here.

In tomorrow's WSJ's Weekend edition, don't miss my Playlist column in the Review section. While I can't get into details yet, I can tell you that the comedian I interviewed on music had me in stitches and will tickle you pink as well.

And now for the genesis of Proud Mary—from John Fogerty to Tina Turner...

May 23, 2013

I'm not sure why the jazz duo of Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff weren't better known in the '50s and '60s, when they did most of their recording—or why they still aren't household names. Part of the reason, I suppose, is that the delicate combination of Mitchell (piano) and Ruff (French horn and bass) wasn't exactly a happening sound back then. Delicate and sensitive with touches of classical influence, the duo's jazz wasn't pop-flavored in the late '50s or expressive and excessive in the '60s. Today I suspect they aren't well known because most of their albums haven't been released digitally.

I must confess that the scarcity of their albums has kept me from being as up on their catalog as I should be. Back in the '70s, I remember passing on them because there wasn't enough crashing and bashing going on. Hey, I was in my 20s. Now that I'm slightly older, their music makes perfect sense. Recently I had an opportunity to hear their Brazilian Trip, and the music on the album is pure mink-soft joy.

Recorded in the summer of 1966, Brazilian Trip isn't really a mid-'60s bossa nova album in the traditional sense. Many of those jazz albums had a splashy commercial sound—a free ride, if you will, the way kids on bikes used to hang onto the backs of buses for velocity. By contrast, this album by the Mitchell-Ruff Duo is caring, loving and fully understanding of Brazilian music's enormous sensitivity.

Essentially, what you have here is Mitchell and Ruff in New York matching tender wits with a group of Brazilian musicians. The lineup includes Mitchell and Ruff joined by Brazilian guitarists Sergio Augusto, Durval Ferreira and Candinho on different tracks along with drummer Chico Batera. What's startling about this album is what it's not: Mitchell and Ruff purposely avoided the bossa trap and instead made an intensely graceful and exquisite Brazilian jazz album.

Hopefully Mosaic or Fresh Sound will see fit to release a larger supply of the Mitchell-Ruff collaborations, since so little is available.

You may recall that Dwike Mitchell died in April. Willie Ruff is still with us. Mitchell was a beautiful player, and with Ruff, sublime.

May 22, 2013

Jutta Hipp is a forgotten '50s jazz pianist with an odd past. She recorded briefly but gave up on jazz in 1956 for reasons that remain mysterious. The German-born Hipp spent her teens under Nazi rule and performed in Germany after the war. She recorded in Germany sporadically from 1952 to '55, when she caught the ear of producer Leonard Feather, who was in Duisburg, Germany. Feather urged Hipp to come to New
York.

Hipp did just that—arriving in the the fall of 1955. Horace Silver talked her up in New York, and Hipp overnight became the first and only female jazz instrumentalist to be signed by Blue Note. The label first released a live recording that Hipp had made in 1954 with sidemen—New Faces, New Sounds from Germany. She also recorded live in April '56 at New York's Hickory House. Volumes 1 and 2 for Blue Note feature Hipp in a trio setting.

In the summer of '56, Hipp performed at the Newport Jazz Festival and in July she recorded on Blue Note with Zoot Sims—an album that would be her last recording.

According to Wikipedia, her nervousness playing with top-flight
players caused her to abandon jazz and become a seamstress in 1958, dying in 2003 in Queens, N.Y. virtually unknown. Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me, so I nosed around.

In 2006, a summary of Katja von Schuttenbach's masters thesis appeared in the July/August 2006 Jazz Podium magazine (go here). Von Schuttenbach [pictured] had just received
her Master of Arts in Jazz History & Research from Rutgers University. According to von Schuttenbach's thesis, Hipp had stage fright and alcohol problems—but her ambitions also fell victim to Leonard Feather's amorous pursuits. Von Schuttenbach states that when mentor Feather was spurned by Hipp, he choked off her career:

"It appears that the unwilling and resisting Hipp hadturned from protégée to persona non grata for Featherwithin months after her arrival," Von Schuttenbach writes. "He retaliated by writing negatively about Hipp in his still widely read encyclopedias and personal memoir, even claiming that Horace Silver’s influence had destroyed Hipp’s playing style. In 1958 Hipp still lived in New York City but was destitute. She had lost her apartment because she couldn’t pay her rent and she didn’t even have enough money to buy a meal."

For whatever reason, von Schuttenbach's assertions in Jazz Podium are undocumented. It's unclear whether her statements about the Feather-Hipp relationship were based on love letters, interviews with sources who had intimate knowledge of Feather's pursuits, or were merely conjecture. I have reached out to von Schuttenbach and will have a Q&A interview with her on Hipp next week. [Pictured above: Leonard Feather]

Hipp developed her piano style in Germany, before coming to the attention of Feather. Until now many of her early recordings there were thought to be lost, but Jazz Haus found them and has released Jutta Hipp: The German
Recordings 1952-1955. The results are rather fascinating.

Though Hipp's playing in 1952 was somewhat wooden, she clearly was deeply influenced by Lennie Tristano's inside-out piano style. Her approach cheers up a bit in '53, on tracks like Moonlight in Vermont and Come Back to Sorrento, but these, too, remain brooding, as if played to a metronome. By 1955, Hipp had become more adventurous and sure of herself.

For me, Hipp's Hickory House trio recordings remain undisturbed examples of her adventurous style and soloing while her album with Sims demonstrates an acute ear for accompaniment. What happened after these sessions remains foggy, but I hope to be in touch with Katja von Schuttenbach to learn more.

May 21, 2013

Yesterday I posted on composer, arranger and pianist Nils Lindberg's 1962 album Trisection, a superb but almost unknown 12-piece jazz recording. I also provided a bit of background on Sweden's 100-year love affair with jazz. Today, a conversation with Nils on Sax Appeal (1960) and Trisection (1962)—two of his early jazz albums recorded in Stockholm:

JazzWax: What was your major influence when writing and arranging Sax Appeal?Nils Lindberg: The songs I wrote for Sax Appeal were inspired by the feeling in Swedish folk tunes. For example, the tune Curbits was built on the chords of just such a song. My arrangements, however, were inspired by Woody Herman´s recording of Four Brothers. I liked the records made by Herman´s Second Herd very much.

JW: Did you listen to jazz radio in Sweden when you were young?NL: Oh, yes. I first heard American jazz after 1945 when the American Forces Radio started broadcasting from Germany. Many Swedish jazz musicians also listened to the network. During World War II, no U.S. jazz records had reached Sweden, so when the war was over we were very grateful and excited to listen on the radio and buy and listen to American jazz records.

JW: Which American records and arrangers most influenced you leading up to Trisection?NL: Gil Evans and his [Birth of the Cool] recordings with Miles Davis.

JW: Where did you write the music for Trisection?NL: After working very hard as a pianist in dance bands in Stockholm, I went up north in 1961 to Dalarna, Sweden, where my parents’ home is located and where I was brought up. Dalarna has a beautiful landscape and a strong folklore tradition. I composed the music there during the summer of that year.

JW: Did you have a strong sense of what you wanted to write?NL: I had no vision whatsoever of what Trisection should be or sound like. I just wrote this suite as I felt it. Of course, the traditional fiddlers in Dalarna and my interest in jazz were strong inspirations. [Pictured above: Dalarna, Sweden]

JW: Given your exceptional command of the jazz orchestra, why did you not travel to the U.S. to work, the way musicians like Lalo Schifrin and Michel Legrand did, in the movies and TV?NL: I had a family and three sons, so I had to work here in Sweden. I also had no opportunity to go to the U.S. No one asked. Through vocalist Alice Babs, Duke Ellington had listened to my music and asked me to write for his band. He also recorded my Far Away Star with Alice Babs. [Pictured above: Dalarna, Sweden]

JW: Duke Ellington toured Scandinavia quite a bit.NL: During Duke´s Scandinavian tour in 1973, I played piano on all concerts with his band. After the tour he asked me to work with him in the U.S., but he died some months after his offer, so who knows what might have happened. Since then, I have played many concerts in the U.S., mainly at colleges and universities.

JazzWax tracks: As mentioned yesterday, you'll find three Nils Lindberg albums—Sax Appeal, Trisection and Symphony #1 and Jazz From Studio A—on a single download called
Nils Lindberg: Essential Swedish Jazz Masters. You'll just have to rearrange the tracks a bit, as outlined in yesterday's post.

About

Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of a Song" (Grove) and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax is a two-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's best blog award.